Motion-picture film.



A. L. CLAWSON. xo'non 210mm; mm. APPLIOATIOI'IILED APR. 8, 1009.

Patented May 17, 1910.

Z'Jumufoz Ms runs, lit" bun. mmnem I!v 1.

. To all it may concern:

' ABRAM L CLAWSON, OF PLEASANT HILL, MISSOURI.

MOTION-PICTURE FILrrZ Specification of Letters Patent. 1

. Patented May 17, 1910. 7

Application filed A rus, 1909. s m nal-488,596.

, newsma thatLAnnAML. Cilawson, a citizer'1' "of the"'ll iiited States,residing at Pleasant Hill, in the county of Cass and State of Missouri,have invented a new and useful Motion-Picture Film, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention has reference to improve- 'ments' in motion picture filmsand is designed to roduce a film whereon the same number pictures may beproduced with agreat reduction in the len h of the film so that thelineal speed of t e film may be greatl reduced and the tim'e're uiredfor rewin ing the film after having een'used ma be correspondinglyreduced. To this on the film is made as wide again, approximately, asfilms in ordinary use and the pictures are printed in two serieslongitudinal of the film but in alternate order on 0 posito, sides ofthe median line of the filin so that a picture on one sideof the medianline of the film is followed by the next picture in order on theothervside of the median line of the film while the blank space of thefilm between the two series of pictures ,.-is utilized .for theproduction of the longiwhich the film is driven.

tudinal series of perforations by means of \Vith such a film theoriginal negative is taken through two matched-lenses side by side instereoscopic arrangement and the film is alternately and intermittentlyexposed through these two lenses so that the finished pictures are alsoin stereoscopic order.

"By-throwing theimages produced by th pictures u on a screen so that theimages produced rom opposite sides of the median ine of the film.coalesce or blend upon the screen, so far as the eye ot'the beholder isconcerned, by being thrown upon the same a portion of the screen inrapid succession alternatel from one side and the other of v the me ianline of the film, the effect produced upon the beholder is that ofstereo-- .1 "scopic vision and consequently the moving pictures'have notonly the lifelike actions of motion pictures but have the added depthdue to the stereoscopic impressions produced upon the beholders. 4

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detail dewidth while the active portion of the film is fromseven-eightl'is of an inch to an inch in width and the separatesuccessive pictures are each about five-eighths to three-quarters of aninch in the direction of the length of the film.

The margins of the fihn tures is utilized for guiding the film, and inthese margins there is usually produced a longitudinal series ofperforations, each margin being so perforated, for the reception ofteeth or pins projecting from the periphcr of the drivin wheels.

Such lms are of difierent lengths, often reaching a thousand or morefeet in length, and the films must be run at such a s eed that thepictures are presented to a position of coincidence with the beam oflight directed toward the screen at a comparatively high frequency, sayat the rate of twenty or more pictures per second, so that, because ofthe persistence of vision, the separate impressions will blend in the e'e of the beholder to produce the effect 0 acontinuous movin scene firomwhich the series of photographs was made. i

The high speed at which the film must be run is liable to produce shocksand jars in the projecting instrument, and such movements beingmagnified greatlyon the screen, say from 150 to 00 diameters, are oftenquite evident in the unsteadiness of the pro jected pictures.Furthermore, after a film has been caused to pass by the lens the filmmust be rewound. in the reverse direction upon the holding reel intoposition to be again passed by the lens when it is desired to againutilize the film.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a film 1about twice as wide as the ordinary film, although in practice the filmneed not be twice as wide as the ordinary film since the film may be asnarrow as about two and one half inches for beyond the picp1ctureagreeable to the original pictures of the same width as those producedupon an ordinary film of about one and one-half inches in width.

The pictures are produced upon the film in. two longitudinal series 3respectively, spaced apart by a median longitudinal portion l of thefilm in which pprtion 4 there is produced a longitudinal series ofequally s aced perforations 5 for the reception of tie perlpherallyprojecting pins of the driving wheel of the machine.

- The .pictures do notextend to the margins of the film but there areleft clear portions 6 at the margins of the film for guiding andsupporting the said film. These marginal portions may be quite narrow.

Assuming that the series 2 of the pictures on the film contain the firsticture of the entire series then-this series or pictures will containthe first, third, fifth, and corres 0nding pictures throughout theseries whi e the series 3 will contain the second, fourth, sixth, andcorresponding pictures throughout the series. Thus the two series ofpietures alternate in order while one series of pictures is displacedlongitudinally of the film with relation to the other series of picturesby half the length of a picture, considering this length to be in thedirection of the length of the film. Thus the pictures 5 are arranged inalternate order on the two ad acent series and each ncture of a seriesoverlaps two pictures of t e other series, except of course the firstand last pictures of the combined series.

In. order to produce such pictures upon a screen it is necessary thatthere be provided two matched lenses in the same horizontal plane butdisplaced one from the other latorally by the distance between thecenters of the two series of ictures' 2 and. 3. Such structure howeverfiirms no part of the present invention and need not be furtherconsidered. The 0 )tical parts of the projecting apparatus shouldhowever be so situated as to throw the images of the two series ofpictures upon the same part of the screen sothat these pictures shallcoalesce in the eye of the observer in the same manner as the successivepictures produced from an ordinary film, or the pictures of the ordinarydissolving stereopticon.

Considering the projecting apparatus as in operation then the firstpicture is thrown upon the screen and then the film is moved a distanceequal to one-half the height of a picture in the direction of the lengthof the him and then the picture corresponding to the second picture ofthe entire series is thrown upon the screen from the alternate series ofpictures, to be followed by the projection of the second picture of thefirst series on the movement of the film 'a distance of one-half theheight of the picture so that the entire movement of the film necessaryto produce three pictures in order is that of a height of a singlepicture.

Since the entire series of pictures is divided into two series ofalternate picturesv placed side by side the necessary length of film isonly about one-half that necessary for the projection of the same numberof individual pictures from a single film containing pictures in regularsuccessive series.

Since the movement imparted to the film in changing from one picture tothe next successive picture is on one-half that of the ordinary film,the lineal speed of the film need therefore be only one-half of that aof the ordinary film thus greatly simplifying the structure and reducingthe liability of such movements, though slight in themselves,which'become obtrusive when highly magnified and appearing on thescreen.

Since but one driving wheel is necessary, the structure is simplified tothis extent and the width of the film is proportionately lessened, sothat the actual amount of material in the film as compared with acontinuous series filmis reduced. This becomes an important item wheregreat lengths of film are produced.

Another important feature of the invention lies in the fact that whilethe time period of running the film through the projection apparatus isthe same as tor a single series film, the speed of the mechanism ispractically halved while, because of the shortening of the film to aproximately half of that of an ordinary sing eseries film, the rewindingtime need be only half that necessary for-re winding the ordinary singleseries film.

Another important fcat-ure of the invention is the possibility ofproducing stereoscopic eliects upon the screen. This is due to the factthat the original negatives may be taken with lenses displaced laterallythus giving the displacement of stereoscopic pictures and when suchpictures are thrown in rapid succession upon the screen the stereoscopic'effectbecomes enhanced and the roundness and depth characteristic ofstereoscopic vision is recognized by the beholder thus materially addinto thecifectiveness o the impression given the lifelike motions of theimages produc uponijthe screen.

\Vhat is claimed is 1. A motion picture film having a centrallongitudinal series of perforations, motion pictures disposed in twolongitudinal series mediate space containing the said perfora-- extentthan the width of the intermediate 10 tions. space containing saidperforations.

2. A motion picture film lmving a central In testimony that I claim theforegoing as longitudinal series of closely related pert'omy own, I havehereto aflixed my signature 5 rations, longitudinal picture receivingporin the presence of two witnesses.

tions on each side 'of the perforations, and ABRAM L. OLAWVSON.

lain edge portions projecting beyond the Witnesses: on itudinal zonesfor receiving the pictures, P. C. CLEMENTS, sai edge port-ions beingeach of less lateral S. P.'M. HILL.

